Leading Human Resources Trade Magazine Workforce Management Sold

Human resources trade publication and website Workforce Management has been by sold Crain Communications to Chicago-based MediaTec Publishing Inc. for an undisclosed sum.

An integrated media company covering the human capital, management and workforce development industries, MediaTec publishes Certification, Chief Learning Officer, Talent Management and Diversity Executive magazines. MediaTec also operates the online industry resource HumanCapitalMedia.com.

Workforce Management Magazine

Workforce Management and its website, workforce.com, comprise the leading independent trade publication covering the world of human resources and management.

Some of Workforce Management’s competitors include the Society for Human Resources’ HR Magazine, hreonline.com, and hr.com,

The acquisition gives MediaTec a significant opportunity to create a new major presence in within the niche of human resources and human capital management publications, information and trade shows.

The company plans to integrate Workforce into its Human Capital Media Group. The majority of Workforce’s employees will be offered employment opportunities with MediaTec, according to a press release announcing the deal.

“We are extremely enthusiastic about this expansion of the Human Capital Media Group,” said Norm Kamikow, MediaTec president and editor in chief, said in a statement.

“The addition of Workforce Management significantly broadens and deepens our portfolio of media assets and strengthens our ability to offer meaningful content that positively impacts the industry from the C-suite to the frontlines,” Kamikow said. “Its timely and news-driven coverage of key business stories from an HR perspective provides the tactics, trends and tools organizations of all sizes need to maximize and manage human capital assets.”

Workforce Management Part Of 90-Years Of Human Resources News

Crain acquired the 90-year-old Workforce Management, the former Personnel Journal, from ACC Communications in 2002. Workforce Management moved its offices from Irvine, Calif., to Chicago in 2010 laying off about half it’s staff.

During the past few years Workforce Management’s revenues and ad pages declined drastically. Its once-robust website traffic has been depressed following a major redesign.

“This has been a very difficult decision because we know it affects the lives of people and their families but in the competitive business-to-business media environment that we operate in we need to aggressively manage our family of brands for the long term,” said Rance Crain, Crain Communications president, in a statement announcing the sale.

Workforce remains one of the most respected and continuously published trade periodicals in the country, and we believe it can thrive under MediaTec’s broader platform of human capital management publications and brands.”

However, Crain Communications isn’t totally out of the human resources information business, at least not yet.

In November 2008, Crain Communications acquired Los Altos, California-based Staffing Industry Analysts, one of the leading provider of information, research and analysis of the temporary staffing or contingent workforce market.

Staffing Industry Analysts’ titles include Staffing Industry Review and Contingent Workforce Strategies magazines in print and online. It also hosts executive conferences.

Staffing Industry Analysts also covers the related business of third-party job placement, outplacement and staff leasing.

“For almost 20 years, Staffing Industry Analysts has been serving staffing companies and more recently large corporations who buy contingent labor with research, data and events,” Rance Crain, president of Crain Communications, said in a statement at the time of the 2008 acquisition. “Their leading role in the marketplace as the acknowledged expert and voice of independence makes Staffing Industry Analysts an exciting addition to the Crain human resources group.”

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